--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no greater mistake than to make…" description: "\"There is no greater mistake than to make light of an enemy By making light of an enemy many a kingdom has been lost.\" — Laozi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/laozi-147_enemy_there-is-no-greater-mistake-than-to-make_1771915.jpg" --- # There is no greater mistake than to make light of an enemy… ![“There is no greater mistake than to make light of an enemy By making light of an enemy many a kingdom has been lost.” quote by Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/laozi-147_enemy_there-is-no-greater-mistake-than-to-make_1771915.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/laozi-147_enemy_there-is-no-greater-mistake-than-to-make_1771915.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/laozi-147_enemy_there-is-no-greater-mistake-than-to-make_1771915.jpg) > “There is no greater mistake than to make light of an enemy By making light of an enemy many a kingdom has been lost.” [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Treating an adversary lightly leads to underestimation, which can cause catastrophic loss for a ruler or nation. **In simple terms:** Underestimating enemies brings ruin. Key Takeaway Never dismiss opponents. Themes caution strategy leadership Mood serious reflective Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - military planning - business competition - diplomacy - personal conflicts Key Concepts Taoist wisdom political risk Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess the true strength of your opponents? - What safeguards can prevent complacency? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can blind you to hidden threats. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Enemy Kingdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy-kingdom-1403343/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater/) [Greater Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater-mistake-1191528/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Kingdom Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kingdom-lost-1787588/) [Kingdoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kingdoms/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Light Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-enemy-841083/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) ## Related quotes > [By gaining the people, the kingdom is gained; by losing the people, the kingdom is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/by-gaining-the-people-the-kingdom-is-gained-by-losing-the-people-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [“Are we prepared to make an enemy out of the Kingdom? The question is, are you bastards prepared to make an enemy out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiro-mashima/are-we-prepared-to-make-an-enemy-out-of-the-kingdom-the-question-is/) [Hiro Mashima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiro-mashima/) > [“when the darkness is close to us it is a friend. But when we sorter push it away from us—divorce ourselves from it, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/when-the-darkness-is-close-to-us-it-is-a-friend-but-when-we-sorter/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I take a step down into the space where light is an enemy but not even darkness shrouds my terror.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padma-venkatraman/i-take-a-step-down-into-the-space-where-light-is-an-enemy-but-not/) [Padma Venkatraman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padma-venkatraman/) > [A kingdom is not lost by a single defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-howard/a-kingdom-is-not-lost-by-a-single-defeat/) [Robert E. 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Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-b-brewer/) > [If one has made a mistake, and fails to correct it, one has made a greater mistake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-one-has-made-a-mistake-and-fails-to-correct-it-one-has-made-a/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [There is no greater mistake in life than seeing things or hearing them at the wrong time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/there-is-no-greater-mistake-in-life-than-seeing-things-or-hearing-2/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [No greater mistake can be made than to imagine that what has been written latest is always the more correct; that what is written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/no-greater-mistake-can-be-made-than-to-imagine-that-what-has-been/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he could only do a little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/nobody-makes-a-greater-mistake-than-he-who-does-nothing-because-he/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [There is no greater mistake in the world than the looking upon every sort of nonsense as want of sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/there-is-no-greater-mistake-in-the-world-than-the-looking-upon-every/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/nobody-made-a-greater-mistake-than-he-who-did-nothing-because-he/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [What makes a kingdom great is its being like a down-flowing river,--the central point towards which all the smaller streams under Heaven converge; or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-makes-a-kingdom-great-is-its-being-like-a-down-flowing-river-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [I consider the differences between man and animals in propensities, feelings, and intellectual faculties, to be the result of the same cause as that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-william-lawrence-1st-baronet/i-consider-the-differences-between-man-and-animals-in-propensities/) [Sir William Lawrence, 1st Baronet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-william-lawrence-1st-baronet/) ## More by Laozi > [When you have accomplished your goal simply walk away. This is the path way to Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-you-have-accomplished-your-goal-simply-walk-away-this-is-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [In lightness the root is lost. In haste the ruler is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/in-lightness-the-root-is-lost-in-haste-the-ruler-is-lost/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [If the sage wants to stand above people, he must speak to them from below. If he wants to lead people, he must follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/if-the-sage-wants-to-stand-above-people-he-must-speak-to-them-from/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Goodie-goodies are the thieves of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/goodie-goodies-are-the-thieves-of-virtue/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [He that humbles himself shall be preserved entire. He that bends shall be made straight. He that is empty shall be filled. He that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-that-humbles-himself-shall-be-preserved-entire-he-that-bends-shall/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The Way of the Sage is to act but not to compete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-way-of-the-sage-is-to-act-but-not-to-compete/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Do nondoing, strive for nonstriving, savor the flavorless, regard the small as important, make much of little, repay enmity with virtue; plan for difficulty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/do-nondoing-strive-for-nonstriving-savor-the-flavorless-regard-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Without looking through the window, you can see Heaven's Way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/without-looking-through-the-window-you-can-see-heaven-s-way/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [What's the difference between beautiful and ugly?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-s-the-difference-between-beautiful-and-ugly/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [In stillness the muddied water returns to clarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/in-stillness-the-muddied-water-returns-to-clarity/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [He (the sage) is good to those who are good. He is also good to those who are not good. That is the virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-the-sage-is-good-to-those-who-are-good-he-is-also-good-to-those/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [There is a thing inherent and natural which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, It stands alone and never changes; It pervades…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/there-is-a-thing-inherent-and-natural-which-existed-before-heaven-and/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [What is a good man but a bad man's teacher? What is a bad man but a good man's job? If you do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-is-a-good-man-but-a-bad-man-s-teacher-what-is-a-bad-man-but-a/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) [Explore all 1,140 Laozi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## More Enemy quotes > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/it-is-the-rule-in-war-if-our-forces-are-ten-to-the-enemy-s-one-to/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Fear is a man's worst enemy, but love is a man's most powerful weapon against anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-is-a-man-s-worst-enemy-but-love-is-a-man-s-most-powerful-weapon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [“Never let your Enemies become your Advocates.” by A. K. Hasan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-k-hasan/never-let-your-enemies-become-your-advocates-by-a-k-hasan/) [A.K. Hasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-k-hasan/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't see why we and the Chinese should have to be enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-don-t-see-why-we-and-the-chinese-should-have-to-be-enemies/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [In this business, you find the enemy, then go after and destroy him. Everything else is rubbish!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-rickenbacker/in-this-business-you-find-the-enemy-then-go-after-and-destroy-him/) [Eddie Rickenbacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-rickenbacker/) > [“Enemies Teach. Friends Preach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapan-ghosh/enemies-teach-friends-preach/) [Tapan Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tapan-ghosh/) [Browse all 7,981 Enemy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no greater mistake than to make light of an enemy By making light of an enemy many a kingdom has been lost.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Laozi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/there-is-no-greater-mistake-than-to-make-light-of-an-enemy-by-making/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/there-is-no-greater-mistake-than-to-make-light-of-an-enemy-by-making/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/laozi-147_enemy_there-is-no-greater-mistake-than-to-make_1771915.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/laozi-147_enemy_there-is-no-greater-mistake-than-to-make_1771915.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/laozi-147_enemy_there-is-no-greater-mistake-than-to-make_1771915.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no greater mistake than to make light of an enemy By making light of an enemy many a kingdom has…” — Laozi", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Laozi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no greater mistake than...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/there-is-no-greater-mistake-than-to-make-light-of-an-enemy-by-making/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/there-is-no-greater-mistake-than-to-make-light-of-an-enemy-by-making/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```